It Ain’t Easy Being Green... Or A Lawyer
By Todd Schultz
Frustrated members of the legal education system have been voicing their concerns on a global scale as of late. In Uganda, the
Bar Exam is said to be too difficult for many students to pass, leaving students high and dry in mounds of debt. Law professors in
countries like Japan and India say their law schools are not of high enough quality to create decent lawyers. And for the past few
months, American law school graduates have launched pointed attacks at American law schools for their lack of transparency.

While the last few months have shown a rise in jobs in the
American legal sector, amidst a decline in jobs throughout the
rest of the American job market, there is more to the story
than job placement alone.
The Boston Herald published some statistics that illustrate the
financial difficulty many in the legal sector are having. They
noted that nine months after graduating from law school, the
median salary was somewhere around $68,500. That’s not a
bad salary by most standards, however, consider that many
law students not only have, on average, $98,806 worth of
loans to pay back, but also, in many cases, just as much for
their undergraduate degrees.
That’s hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt they have to
start paying back on a salary that is often half of that. Throw
the tough economy and the high prices of basic necessities
like gas and groceries, and you’ve got a struggling legal
sector.
Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who published the
information about income, also noted that the legal sector fell
victim to over 22,000 job cuts since 2009.

A recent analysis conducted by Lisa Smith, a consultant at
Hildebrandt Baker Robbins suggests that during the next five
to seven years, around 27 percent of the 65,000 non-partner
associates at Am Law 200 firms could either be cut or be
sentenced to lower-paying positions.
That equals more than 17,000 gone from America’s largest law
firms.
‘’If some of these trends we’re seeing now continue, what are
the implications of that overall?,’’ said Smith. ‘’All of these
shifts are replacing jobs, as opposed to just changing the mix
as firms continue to grow.’’
Smith is of the mindset that the legal sector, who touted
job growth in recent months, is no different than any other
profession during tough economic times.
‘’I think it’s unrealistic for us to expect that the law business is
going to be any different than any other business in terms of
the changing need for talent. Look at your business media and
journalism. The changes have been dramatic and I think we’re
seeing this just come a little later to the legal field.’’

The law school professor behind the blog instapundit.com,
claims that the job market in the legal sector has gotten
weaker over the past few years.